After an 18-month rehab following Tommy John surgery, the Angels’ Tyler Skaggs is scheduled to pitch two innings in an exhibition game Thursday. ‘It’s been a long time for me,’ he said. ‘But at the same time I can look myself in the mirror and know I’ve done everything I possibly could to get back.’

TEMPE, Ariz. – On July 31, 2014, Tyler Skaggs enjoyed arguably the best game of his life.

It was also the worst.

That day in Baltimore, Skaggs had struck out six of the last eight hitters he faced and was working on a no-hitter in the fifth inning when he felt something in his arm.

What was first called forearm tightness would soon be diagnosed as a torn ulnar collateral ligament, the injury that leads to the three most disturbing words a pitcher can hear.

Tommy John surgery.

Now, as Skaggs enters the home stretch of his 18-month journey – he is scheduled to pitch two innings in the Angels exhibition game Thursday, his first competition since that day in Baltimore – it’s awkward to reflect on the day it started.

“It’s bittersweet,” Skaggs said. “I had a great game, but I hurt my elbow. I can still picture it.”

In the months since, Skaggs has endured a seemingly endless rehabilitation with, by his estimate, more bad days than good. Although the 24-year-old left-hander is about to take a big step, he is still about a month from being able to pitch in a major league game.

The timeline for rehab from Tommy John surgery is generally around 12 months, but since Skaggs had his surgery in August 2014, the Angels told him there was no point in coming back for the end of the 2015 season. He knew then that his rehab would be more like 18 months.

Although there were plenty of physical challenges for Skaggs during daily four-hour rehab sessions, the toughest obstacles were mental.

“Every day you wake up and think, ‘Do I need to work out today?’” Skaggs said. “Is it really necessary for me to get up at 6 in the morning and go run? The mental grind of everything is the toughest part. Physically it’s great to look in the mirror and see you are gaining weight and getting stronger, but the mental part is tough.

“Am I still going to be a good pitcher? Am I even going to be on the team? A lot of things circle in your mind. You have to block it out.”

Fortunately for Skaggs, he had a partner to help him through.

Patrick Corbin and Skaggs were drafted by the Angels, then both traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Dan Haren trade in 2010. They became close friends and even lived together.

In March 2014, after a breakout season with the Diamondbacks, Corbin underwent Tommy John surgery. Five months later, Skaggs followed him.

“He is someone I leaned on a lot,” Skaggs said. “He’s helped me a lot. After every one of my outings, I would reach out and ask, ‘How did you feel at this time? What did you do? What works for you?’”

Skaggs did not pick up a baseball until spring training 2015. He gradually progressed to throwing off a mound in the summer. He didn’t face a batter, even in batting practice, until last week.

“Probably 75 percent of the time I felt (bad),” Skaggs said. “You just have to push through it. There are days you feel amazing and days where you go, ‘Wow, that (stunk).’”

While Skaggs had to deal with all of the rehab and the questions about whether his arm would feel the same, there is the whole separate issue about being an effective pitcher.

Before he got hurt, his career had been one higher on promise than consistency. He has a 4.72 ERA over his 31 major league starts, mixing poor outings with good ones. None better than his last, that July day in Baltimore.

“That’s a pretty good showing of myself the day I got hurt,” he said. “That’s my full potential. That’s the Tyler Skaggs at my peak. I am working my way back up there.”

C.J. Wilson, who had Tommy John surgery while he was in the minors, said Skaggs shouldn’t try to be the same pitcher he was.

He could be better.

“He’s made himself into a better athlete,” Wilson said. “He’s a tremendously better fielder. His legs are in better shape. His overall body is I guess more grown up and matured, but that’s what happens after a year and a half of working out. I think physically he’s way further ahead now than he was a year and a half ago when he had the surgery.”

The issue is how that will translate to pitching, especially given the rust of not being in competitive situations in so long.

However, Wilson said that he can pitch better, too, just from the time spent studying his mechanics during the rehab process.

“I threw harder when I came back,” Wilson said. “I learned how to use my hips better and torso better. Stuff like that. If Skaggs is able to do the same thing, he’s going to have some of the best stuff in the American League.”

The first test will come on Thursday when Skaggs stands on the mound facing the Chicago White Sox, reaching a milestone in his rehab.

“It’s been a long time for me,” Skaggs said. “But at the same time I can look myself in the mirror and know I’ve done everything I possibly could to get back.”

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.